After reading Eva Fischer’s take on VJing, I see it as this wicked fusion of live art and a concert on visual steroids. “Liveness” in VJing is like catching lightning in a bottle – it’s all about the now, the raw energy of the crowd, and the beats syncing up in real-time. It’s not just visuals; it’s an experience that’s as alive as the music. Even though these performances might take place in clubs mainly, “it’s important for artists to perform at different levels”, said a VJ artist in Video Output. This got me thinking about how VJs are the unsung performers, not just tech geeks behind a screen but artists riding the wave of the music, painting with light on the fly.
Talking about “the performative” in VJing hits home after Fischer’s insights. It’s not just a technical skill; it’s a live performance art. “One of the key elements in the practice of VJing is the real-time mix of content from a ‘library of
media'” (Fischer 111). It’s the VJ becoming this visual DJ, weaving a narrative that dances with the music. It’s not scripted; it’s a live collaboration where the audience is as much a part of the show as the musicians and the VJ. It’s like the VJ is this mad conductor in a symphony of light and sound, turning the stage into a living canvas.
And then, visual wallpaper takes on a whole new meaning. It’s not just background noise; it’s a visual embrace. From the reading we know that VJs aren’t just throwing random images on a screen – they’re crafting an immersive world and many VJs are artists who pursue art. It’s not a concert anymore; it’s stepping into a visual universe where every flicker and flash is a brushstroke on the canvas of the performance. After reading Fischer’s chapter, VJing feels less like a tech gimmick and more like an art form that’s reshaping how we experience live music.
Works Cited
Fischer, Eva, VJing (Fluctuating images), 2015. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1r01HZ9wjj493ga_e8Z27ML59Y8dhb7yv/view
Finkelstein & Vlachos, Video Output, 2005. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1A-7Sk2YdjUDWOfkBUMJDKJ1hNg6IlZSE/view
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